Combined vacuum washing and wringing machine.



S. B. MILLER. NED VACUUM WASHING AND WRINGING MACHINE.

COMB! APPLICATION HLED JUNE 26, 1914. 1,155,946., Patented Oct. 5, 1915.

COMBINED VACUUM WASHING AND WRINGING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

- Patented Oct. 5, 1915.

Application filed June 26, 1914. Serial No. 847,443.

I To all whom it may concern:

I, SHRnwsBoRY B. MIL- LER, a citizen of the United States, residingatFairmont, in the county of Marion and State of West Virginia, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Combined Vacuum Washingand Wringing Machines, of which the following is a specification,reference being had therein to the accompanying drawing.

This invention relates to a combination vacuum washing and wringingmachine and has for its object, the provision of a washing machine inwhich Be it known that a reciprocating piston is mounted within areceptacle in such a manner that by the reciprocation of the piston, theclothes arranged-thereon are subjected to a series of jets of waterwhich removes the dirt therefrom.

Another object of the invention is to provide a washing machine withmeans for partially creating a vacuum in order to remove the air fromthe clothes so as to allow the water to penetrate through the same; saidvacuum-creating means also serving the purpose of carrying off theimpurities mingled with the vapors arising from the washing fluid withinthe receptacle.

Another object of the invention is to provide means for introducingwater above the mass of clothes on the down stroke of the piston,whereby the clothes within the receptacle will be subjected to theaction of the washing fluid at all times, so as to thoroughly clean thesame without injuring the clothes in any way.

Another object of the invention is to provide a washing machine which isprovided .With means for introducing water 'and bluing into thereceptacle at a point adjacent the bottom thereof and below the normalplane of the piston.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a piston withpassages arranged in such a manner that the clothes will be agitated orrearranged upon the piston in the movement of the piston so that allportions of the mass of clothes will be thoroughly subjected to the jetsof water passing through the piston in its downward movement.

Another object 'of the invention is to provide means for supporting theclothes above the plane of the piston so as to allow the water on the upstroke of the piston, to readily pass through the openings.

serted within the receptacle.

Another object of the invention is to provide a washing machine which isso constructed that the mass of clothes is alternately subjected to awashing and a squeezing action in the movement of the piston, wherebythe clothes can be squeezed in order to wring the same after tion hasbeen completed.

Other and further objects and advantages of the invention will behereinafter set forth and the novel features thereof defined by theappended claims.

In the drawing Figure 1, is a vertical section through my improvedconstruction of washing machine; and Fig. 2, is a top plan view of aslightly modified form of piston in which passages are formedtangentially in order to cause the mass of clothes to revolve upon thepiston during the washing operation.

Like numerals of reference refer to like parts in the several figures ofthe drawing In carrying out my improved invention, I employ a suitablereceptacle 1 herein shown cylindrical in shape, having a supporting base2 provided with a removable cover 3 having fastening means 4 forsecuring the same in position upon the receptacle; the joint between thecover and receptacle being provided with a gasket 5 in order to form atight joint.

A suitable hand-hole 6 is formed in the cover which is closed by a lid 7cooperating with a gasket 8 and secured in position by a cam pin 9 inorder to form a tight joint; said hand-hole being used for inspectingthe clothes being washed and for inserting a washing detergent.

Extending into one side of the receptacle is a pipe 10 provided with avalve 11 and having a branch 12 connected to its upper end to which areconnected hot and cold water pipes 13 and 14 by means of which, water atthe proper temperature, can be in- Connected to the pipe 10 to each sideof the valve 11 are pipes 15 and 16 provided with valves 17 and 18; saidpipes being connected with vertical pipes 19 and 20 which extend into abluing receptacle 21; the pipe 19 being provided with a valve casing 22to which is connected, a funnel 23 for filling the receptacle 21 withbluing and it will be seen that when the valve 11 is closed and thevalves 17 and 18 are open, the fluid passing through thepipe 10 willpass through the bluing receptacle the washing opera- 7 the clothes,

self

21 and will convey the necessary amount of bluing into the washingreceptacle 1. The valves 17 and 18 are closed and hot and cold waterwill pass into the receptacle in a straight line. 4

Connected to the receptacle adjacent its upper end is a pipe 24; adaptedto be connected to a vacuum pump in the engine room, by means of which,a partial vacuum is obtained within the receptacle in order to removethe impurities and the air from allowing the piston, as will behereinafter fully described, to reciprocate within the receptacle in apartial vacuum, said vacuum being insufficient to create a suction ofsuch a volume, in such a manner, as to raise the liquid within thereceptacle.

The cover 3 is provided with a centrally arranged stuffing box 25through which extends a piston rod 26 which is provided with a piston 27fitting snugly within the receptacle and provided with a parking ring 28cooperating with the inner wall of the receptacle. The piston isprovided with a plurality of perforations, some of which, are arrangedobliquely and others vertically, through which the water on the downstroke of the piston, is adapted to be forced in the form of jets so asto strike the clothes arranged upon the piston in such a manner that thedirt will be removed therefrom, a suitable lattice work being arrangedupon the upper face of the piston for supporting the mass of clothesslightly above the plane of the top of the piston which allows the waterto circulate freely through the piston in its up and down stroke. Theform of lattice work shown in Fig. 1, comprises concentric ribs 29connected together by cross bars 30 and while I have shown this specificconstruction of lattice work for accomplishing this result, I do notwish to limit myto any particular form, as the main function to beperformed bv such lattice work, is to support the clothes away from thepassages.

The piston rod 26 has a yielding connection with a pitman 31 which isadapted to be connected to a suitable crank or cam in order toreciprocate the piston within the receptacle and in the form shown, thepiston rod 26 is provided with a head 32 arranged within a cylindricalcasing 33 which is connected to a pitman 10d 31 as shown at 34; saidpiston rod being surrounded by a coil spring 35 one end of which, isnormally held in engagement with the head 32 and the other with the endof the casing 33. By this I construction of yielding connection with thedriving mechanism, a fast down stroke and a slow up stroke is obtainedupon the piston in order to subject the mass of clothes arranged uponthe niston to strong jets of water on the down stroke and upon the upstroke to gradually squeeze the liquid out of the mass of clothes. Thecover 3 is also provided with concentric ribs 36 so as to hold theclothes away from the same in order to allow a circulation of liquidaround the mass when it is brought into engagement with the cover by theupward movement of the piston.

In order to provide means for subjecting the clothes upon the piston toliquid in both of its strokes, a by-pass is formed by a pipe 37 which isprovided with a check valve 38; said pipe having its ends extended intothe cylinder adjacent its top and bottom and it will be seen that on thedown stroke of the piston, liquid will be forced through the pipe 37upon the top of the mass of clothes.

A suitable valve-controlled drain pipe 39 is formed in the bottom of thereceptacle. by means of which, the liquid can be drained off after thewashing operation has been completed.

In the modification shown in Fig. 2, a piston 40 is shown, which isprovided with spaced ribs 41 connected to the center by spoke-likemembers 42, these ribs being in the form of segments and are for thepurpose of supporting the clothes above the piston to allow the water topass through the openings around the mass of clothes thereon. Instead ofextending the passageways obliquely as shown in the preferred form, oneset of passageways as shown at 44 are arranged obliquely in a differentdirection so as to cause the clothes upon the piston to be revolvedwithin the receptacle by the jets of water passing through thepassageways on the down stroke of the piston and while I have shownthese openings arranged in this manner it is, of course, understood thatthe main object to be accomplished, is to cause a mass of clothes to bemoved in respect to the passageways so as to subject a new portion ofthe mass to the jets of liquid upon each stroke of the piston, and I donot wish to limit myself to any particular manner of forming thesepassageways, as various other forms of passageways can be employedwithout departing from the spirit of my invention, so long as the jetshave the tendency to move the clothes upon the piston.

The operation of my construction of washing machine is as follows:Assuming that the machine is in the position as shown in Fig. 1 and thata mass of clothes has been placed upon the piston and the vacuum pumpstarted within the engine room, the air within the receptacle is drawnout through the pipe 24 and by the continuous movement of the pump, thevapors arising from the liquid within the receptacle and containingimpurities which are mingled therewith, are drawn out through the pipe24. After a vacuum has been created within the receptacle the pump isstopped and a partial vacuum is maintained within the receptacle inorder to allow the piston to work I viously deposited within thereceptacle.

On the up stroke of the piston the clothes which have been drawn downinto the liquid within the receptacle, are carried upwardly with thepiston slowly, as the yielding connection yields in the upward movementof the driving mechanism and as the piston continues to travel upwardy,they are forced against the cover of the receptacle and squeezed so asto remove as nearly as is possible all of the liquid therefrom, and bycontinuing the movement of the piston the clothes are subjectedalternately to a squeezing and washing action which thoroughly removesall of the dirt, and ifthe pump is in operation the particles of dirtwhich are mingled with the rising vapor from the hot suds, beingconveyed out through the pipe 24. After the washing operation has beencompleted, the liquid being drained off, the driving mechanism is againstarted and through the yielding connection, the mass of clothes isgradually squeezed against the top of the cover until a wringing actionis obtained, at which time, the cover can be readily removed so as toremove the mass of clothes therefrom.

It has also been found by experimenting that good results can beobtained in washing certain classes of clothes by creating a vacuumwithin the receptacle through the medium of the pump and bydisconnecting the pump or cutting off the pipe leading thereto, thevacuum can be maintained with in the receptacle so that the clotheswill'be washed in a vacuum. In carrying out the mode of washing in thismanner, after the tub has been supplied with the necessary Water andwashing fluid and the clothes have been inserted, the pump in the boilerroom is started and the air within the receptacle is drawn out throughthe pipe until a vacuum is created within the receptacle and byproviding the pipe with a valve and closing the same, the vacuum will bemaintained within the receptacle through the washing operation.

While I have shown and described certain novel features of constructionin connection with a washing machine as set forth in this application, Ido not wish to limit myself to any particular construction of receptacleand piston, as the fundamental principle of this invention, is the ideaof providing an port mounted therein, means air-tight receptacle withmeans for creating a vacuum therein in order to allow the clothes to bewashed in a vacuum by means of which, the clothes are -washed in ashorter length of time and the dirt is thoroughly removed therefrom, asthe air is first removed from the clothes in order to allow the water toenter the fiber thereof.-

I claim:

1. In a washing machine, the combination with an air-tight receptacle,of means for producing a partial vacuum within said receptacle, amovable clothes supporting member mounted Within said receptacle havinga reticulated clothes supporting surface upon its upper side, and meansfor operating said movable clothes supporting member.

2. In a washing machine, the combination with a receptacle, of a feedpipe leading to said receptacle, a cover for closing said receptacleprovided with ribs, a perforated piston mounted within said receptaclehaving ribs upon its upper face, a piston rod carried by said head,means for producing a partial vacuum within said receptacle, a pitmanrod, and a yielding connection between said piston rod and pitman.

3.. A washing machine, comprising a receptacle, a cover for closing saidreceptacle having depending ribs, a piston head mounted within saidreceptacle provided with perforations, ribs formed on the upper face ofsaid piston head for supporting a mass of clothes in a plane above thepiston head, means for reciprocating said piston head, means forcreating a partial vacuum therein, and a by-pass having a communicationwith said receptacle above and below said piston head.

4. A washing machine, comprising an airtight receptacle, a reciprocatingclothes supfor producing a partial vacuum within said receptacle, and aby-pass connected to said receptacle above and below said clothessupport.

5. As a new article of manufacture, a washing machine, comprising areceptacle having a by-pass communicating'with said receptacle adjacentthe top and bottom thereof, a cover for closing sald receptacle, asuction pipe connected to said receptacle ad jacent the upper endthereof for creating apartial vacuum therein, and a reciprocatingclothes support mounted within said receptacle.

6. A Washing machine comprising a receptacle provided with a cover, apiston rod working through said cover, a piston carried by said rodprovided with perforations, said piston and cover being provided withopposing rods, a water inlet at one side of said receptacle, a by-passhaving a connection with said receptacle adjacent its upper and lowerend, and a check valve arranged within said by-pass.

7. A washing machine comprisinga cylinabove and below said piston, and acheck 10 drical receptacle, a cover closing said revalve arranged withinsaid by-pass. ceptaclc to form an air-tight chamber, means In testimonywhereof I affix my signature for producing a partial vafuum withinlsaid'in presence of two Witnesses.

5 chamber, means or intro ucin a Was ing fluid into said chamber, meansfir discharg- SHREWSBURY MILLER ing washing fluid therefrom, aperforated Witnesses: piston working Within chamber, a by-pass EDWINROBINSON, having a connection with said chamber PATRICK M. Hoes.

